Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego

HIRE LIBRARY CATALOG WEBSHOP PBM

Composers

Aleksander Lasoń

*1951

Aleksander Lasoń was born in Silesia, on 10th November 1951.
He studied composition under professor Józef Świder’s at the State Higher School of Music (now the Music Academy) in Katowice. After gaining his diploma, with the highest distinction, he took part in Burgas’ Courses under Ton de Leeuw, Marin Goleminov and Andrey Eshpay. In 1984 and 1988 he participated in the International Summer New-Music Courses in Darmstadt.

Aleksander Lasoń was initially active as an improvising pianist (winner of the 4th Piano Improvisation Contest in 1972) but over time he devoted himself to composing and directing. He has received numerous awards and commissions, with one of the most important The Beethoven Prize of the City of Bonn in 1980 for Symphony No. 2 “Concertante” for piano and orchestra. He received three coveted awards at the UNESCO's International Tribune of Composers in Paris: in 1980 he was awarded first place for his Symphony No. 1 for brass instruments, percussion and two pianos, and in 1988 his String Quartet No. 2 and in 1997 Concerto festivo for violin and orchestra, were distinguished. He twice received the Witold Lutosławski Scholarship-Awards (1987 and 1989), as well as The "Exclusiv" scholarship-award of Tonos Music Publishers in Darmstadt (1988/1989). For eminent achievements in the field of composition and long-time involvement in the propagation of new music he received Polish Composers’ Union Award (2002). In 2008 String Quartet No. 7 and in 2009 Called Back were among the seven final nominees to the prestigious OPUS Award given by Polish Public Media.

Apart from composing, after 1975 Aleksander Lasoń has been actively involved in teaching. The title of Professor of Musical Arts was conferred upon him in 2000. He is professor at the Silesian University in Cieszyn and at the Katowice Academy of Music.
In 1996 he was the initiator of the New Music Orchestra in residence at the Music Academy in Katowice. The orchestra's aim is to promote most recent compositions, as well as 20th-century classics

In 1986-1989, Lasoń was the Vice-President of the Polish Society for Contemporary Music in Warsaw (the Polish section of ISCM), and the President of the Katowice Division of the Association of Polish Composers in 1990-1993.

His compositions are published by PWM Edition and TONOS Music Publishers in Darmstadt.